Workshops: Child/Adolescent Mental Health

Assessment and Differential Diagnosis of Children

ID: 5654

This workshop seeks to enhance the clinicians ability to diagnose child mental disorders accurately and comprehensively. We will address two major topic areas: 1) the key factors in accurate assessment, including developmental perspectives, the use of multiple data sources and standardized assessment tools; and 2) major diagnostic categories, including disruptive behavior, reactive attachment disorder and early character dysfunction in children. The workshop will include didactic presentation and case-centered group exercises. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring sample vignettes that illustrate diagnostic difficulties and puzzles. It is suggested that participants bring a copy of the DSM-5, if possible.

Child Interviews: Understanding the Ins and Outs

ID: 5001

There is a world of difference between conducting adult and child interviews. A different skill set is required to be effective with each age group. This workshop is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of the art of interviewing young children. Participants will increase their knowledge and understanding of how the childs brain functions and what particular strategies can be utilized to build rapport and elicit information from children in a non-threatening way.

Children's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities

ID: 3034

This workshop will focus on a variety of related topics, including: differential diagnosis of disability and mental illness, adapting treatment supports to better serve those with developmental disabilities, and integrating behavior intervention strategies with mental health treatment.

Communicating With Adolescents: Speaking Their Language

ID: 5029

When parents and helping professionals try to start a conversation with adolescents, they often get one-word answers or no answers at all. Many families and helping professionals struggle to understand how adolescents think and feel and how to get adolescents to respond. Participants will learn strategies and techniques to engage adolescents and to help families learn how to talk to their adolescents about difficult topics and get the adolescents to talk back.

Complex Trauma in Children

ID: 5661

Exposure to multiple traumatic events early in life within the context of the caregiving system can have profound and long-lasting impacts. These experiences affect how people experience others and react to events, and often lead to dysfunction in a variety of ways: problems in establishing stable relationships; problems managing emotions; problems controlling behavior; and problems in planning and following through on plans. The difficulties typically go beyond the basic criteria for PTSD. Often, these children do not have narrative memories for the events that occurred. If the problems they present are not understand as reactions to complex trauma, the interventions chosen to address them are not helpful and the children often fail in the many systems they enter. This workshop will provide an overview of what constitutes complex trauma, the ways in which individuals with these histories are impacted, as well as a discussion of how understanding these issues can make our interventions more successful.

Cutting, Self Mutilation, and Suicide

ID: 5002

Despite the seemingly growing rate of self-injurious behavior across all cultures, particularly among adolescent and college populations, therapists and other helping professionals often fail to ask direct questions to their young clients about the origin of unusual injuries. Others are often left feeling frustrated by those who repeatedly injure themselves and resort to responses such as "they're just doing it for attention" or misinterpret the behavior to mean that the individual is suicidal. It is not enough to focus on symptom reduction such as putting ice cubes on arms instead of cutting. As professionals we must focus on deeper, more long lasting change. This workshop explains the underlying dynamics such as affect regulation, control/punishment, alexithymia, and self-capacities/ invalidation. Participants will learn what each of these is and be able to explain them. Participants will also participate in learning concrete relaxation and breathing skills that can be utilized for their own affect regulation when dealing with such emotionally charged issues.

Dealing With Angry Students and Tantrums Effectively

ID: 5061

It seems each year we are faced in dealing with more and more students who are getting angrier and angrier. Why are our students angry? How do we deal with students when they are annoyed, frustrated or otherwise irritated? What works and what does not? In this informative workshop we will attempt to briefly look at the context that seems to foster these students. Then, and most importantly, we will look at practical and simple tools that can be used immediately to decrease the incidents of tantrums and angry behaviors within the school, mental health and home setting. The goal of this workshop will be to supplement your existing tools with others you can quickly implement when working with these students during their most challenging states.

Dealing with Challenges When Working with Parents and Families

ID: 5607

Whether you're an educator, CST member, administrator or mental health professional you share one thing in common-dealing with difficult parents and families. All of us have experienced problematic, unproductive, and/or uncomfortable interactions with parents/families. Whether it be issues of defensiveness, "my child does no wrong," noncompliance, or just plain hostile parents, it can place an incredible hurdle and stress on your job duties. So what can you do? In this workshop learn effective, practical tools, geared to help productively tailor your interventions around the most common types of challenging parents/families.

Dealing with Differences and Diversity in the Clinical Treatment of Children and Adolescents

ID: 5658

This workshop addresses ethnic and cultural differences relevant to the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents. The workshop will use examples from Latino, African American, and African Caribbean families, but will stress the dimensions of cultural difference that clinicians should explore when working across any cultural or ethnic difference. Topics will include the evaluation and treatment implications of cultural and ethnic differences: 1) family composition and family structure; 2) child-rearing and schooling practices; 3) gender and generational role expectations; 4) definitions of mental health and illness; 5) definitions of help and help-seeking; 6) the common clashes between client expectations and the professional helpers; and 7) ways for clinicians to bridge the gaps in culture reducing the effectiveness of services. The workshop will combine didactic presentations and group exercises. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring relevant case material to share.

Ethical Considerations for Mental Health Professionals Working with Children and Adolescents I: Approaches to Ethics, Practice Issues, Confidentiality, and Custody/Parenting Time

ID: 5672

This workshop will outline the ethical and legal requirements in providing general mental health services to children and families. The first half of the workshop will be devoted to an examination of ethical models, with a focus on the relevance of general principles to specific general practice issues (consent to treatment, boundaries, involvement of collaterals, documentation). The afternoon will address confidentiality in work with children and its exceptions, as well as the particular challenges of treating children in the context of divorce. This workshop does not qualify for NBCC clock hours.

Ethical Considerations for Mental Health Professionals Working with Children and Adolescents II: Approaches to Ethics, Practice Issues, Confidentiality, and Custody/Parenting

ID: 5673

This workshop will outline the ethical and legal requirements in providing mental health services to children and families in a child welfare context. The first half of the workshop will be devoted to an examination of overarching ethical principles, with a focus on recognizing child abuse and on reporting issues. The afternoon will address ethical issues in responding to challenges at key decision points during involvement with child protective services various confidentiality in work with children and its exceptions and in understanding the role of the mental health professional in the legal contexts related to child maltreatment. This workshop does not qualify for NBCC clock hours.

Let's Talk About Opposition in Adolescence

ID: 5663

Opposition in adolescence has become synonymous with oppositional defiant disorder. This view of opposition as a disorder is limiting and puts adults in conflict with youth. This workshop will focus on discussing the need to see opposition on a continuum. Participants will identify and discuss their personal constructs about oppositionality in adolescence. They will explore my construct of opposition as advocacy and power expression in adolescence which facilitates the youth's development of a healthy sense of self and purpose that will equip them to transition into a healthy, productive, and satisfying adulthood. Participants will discuss the importance of focusing on the caregiver-adolescent relationship and using relational interventions.

Normality or Pathology: An Exploration of Child Development and Mental Health

ID: 5650

Where does normality end and pathology begin? This question is especially pertinent for clinicians working with children whose developmental stage has a tremendous impact on their current level of functioning. This workshop will explore the interrelationship between children's developmental stages and interpersonal functioning with peers and within family relationships. Participants will move along developmental lines, from separation anxiety to separation and individuation, and explore what separates "normal" child developmental struggles from extremes in behavior indicative of a range of mental health issues. Participants will also explore age-appropriate treatment approaches.

Principles of Differential Diagnosis in Adolescents

ID: 5651

Diagnosing mental disorders in adolescents can pose special difficulties. The clinical presentations of certain important disorders can differ from what is typical in adulthood and be harder to differentiate from normative development. At the same time, factors that complicate diagnosing adults--for example, the effects of medical problems or substance abuse-also complicate diagnosing adolescents. Further, particular medical and psychological interventions impact adolescents differently than adults. This comprehensive two-day workshop will review current knowledge about how selected mental disorders (mood disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, pervasive developmental disorders, early onset schizophrenia, and others) should be diagnosed in adolescence. The workshop focuses on diagnosis, not treatment techniques; research on the efficacy of current treatments for adolescents will be reviewed when relevant.

Psychopharmacology with Children and Adolescents

ID: 5652

A comprehensive psychiatric assessment is crucial for determining the appropriate use of psychotropic medications as part of mental health treatment of children or adolescents. This workshop explores the basic classes of psychotropic medications, their indications for use, and their common side effects. The insights provided in this workshop are pertinent to all clinicians working with children on psychotropic medication. This knowledge enables good collaboration among mental health professionals and strengthens the client-clinician relationship.

Understanding and Treating Children and Adolescents in the Context of Their Families

ID: 5656

Treatment of children and adolescents by definition involves an understanding of their family context. This workshop is designed to highlight the interface between children/adolescents and the family in which they are growing. There will be an initial focus on assessment of individual and family functioning. Participants will enhance their understanding of the concept of "fit" between children and parents. Specific techniques will be presented in order to help improve children's functioning within the context of their family. Finally, the role of the therapist in facilitating enhanced functioning will be discussed. The workshop will include both didactic and interactive components.

Understanding Child Development Through a Cultural Lens

ID: 5670

The challenges that children face while growing up are largely impacted by their environment. It is important to understand this environment through the "cultural looking glass". This workshop will help participants recognize, identify and compare children's developmental issues within the framework of culture and focus on different aspects of early development as markers of a child's progress.